Jetted FoxCareers · Kitchens & cooking
Food preparation workers
Gets ingredients ready for cooks: washing, chopping, measuring and portioning food. No college degree needed.
Start now · nothing needed
Starting pay ranges from about $10.30/hr in Mississippi to $18.30/hr in Washington, DC.
Pay in every state
| State | Start | 2 years |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $10.01–10.58/hr | $13.43/hr |
| Alaska | $14.59–16.34/hr | $17.17/hr |
| Arizona | $15.05–16.45/hr | $17.67/hr |
| Arkansas | $11.55–12.45/hr | $13.30/hr |
| California | $16.92–17.79/hr | $18.92/hr |
| Colorado | $14.81–16.68/hr | $18.73/hr |
| Connecticut | $16.35–16.99/hr | $17.62/hr |
| Delaware | $15–15.32/hr | $17.28/hr |
| Florida | $13.55–14.63/hr | $17.27/hr |
| Georgia | $11.94–14.24/hr | $16.95/hr |
| Hawaii | $14.40–16.02/hr | $18.35/hr |
| Idaho | $10.65–13.24/hr | $15.15/hr |
| Illinois | $15/hr | $16.75/hr |
| Indiana | $11.14–13.25/hr | $14.28/hr |
| Iowa | $11.42–13.59/hr | $14.60/hr |
| Kansas | $11–13.32/hr | $14.56/hr |
| Kentucky | $10.05–10.96/hr | $12.91/hr |
| Louisiana | $8.64–10.33/hr | $11.36/hr |
| Maine | $14.98–16.23/hr | $17.32/hr |
| Maryland | $15.04–15.88/hr | $17.07/hr |
| Massachusetts | $16.48–17.34/hr | $18.70/hr |
| Michigan | $12.76–13.31/hr | $14.99/hr |
| Minnesota | $14.01–14.69/hr | $16.76/hr |
| Mississippi | $9.04–10.30/hr | $12.61/hr |
| Missouri | $13.75–14.05/hr | $15.15/hr |
| Montana | $12.50–13.80/hr | $16.28/hr |
| Nebraska | $13.82–14.36/hr | $16.93/hr |
| Nevada | $12.57–13.88/hr | $16.09/hr |
| New Hampshire | $12.90–14.91/hr | $17.68/hr |
| New Jersey | $15.49–16.12/hr | $17.09/hr |
| New Mexico | $13.12–13.75/hr | $16.04/hr |
| New York | $16–16.50/hr | $17.12/hr |
| North Carolina | $10.52–12.79/hr | $14.55/hr |
| North Dakota | $13.66–15.15/hr | $17.69/hr |
| Ohio | $12.81–13.91/hr | $16.60/hr |
| Oklahoma | $10–11/hr | $13.72/hr |
| Oregon | $15.17–16.88/hr | $18/hr |
| Pennsylvania | $10.75–13.38/hr | $14.83/hr |
| Rhode Island | $15–15.48/hr | $17.06/hr |
| South Carolina | $11.05–13.39/hr | $15.47/hr |
| South Dakota | $12.75–13.55/hr | $14.63/hr |
| Tennessee | $10.71–11.71/hr | $13.80/hr |
| Texas | $10.96–13.04/hr | $14.74/hr |
| Utah | $12.85–14.31/hr | $16.12/hr |
| Vermont | $15.31–16.93/hr | $17.57/hr |
| Virginia | $13.68–14.88/hr | $16.78/hr |
| Washington | $16.78–17.25/hr | $19.67/hr |
| Washington, DC | $18.03–18.30/hr | $19.04/hr |
| West Virginia | $10.37–11.19/hr | $13.63/hr |
| Wisconsin | $12.54–13.88/hr | $16.38/hr |
| Wyoming | $11–14.86/hr | $17.36/hr |
Estimates, May 2025. Start = what the lowest-paid 10–25% earn; 2 years = the median. US Bureau of Labor Statistics
What it takes
Before you're hired
Also: 16+
Once you're hired
A normal day
You work from a prep list each shift: cutting vegetables, slicing meat, making salads and filling containers for the line. You keep the walk-in fridge organized and the station clean. You take direction from the cooks and chef.
The good parts
Easy first job with no experience needed. Knife and kitchen skills you can build on. The usual step to line cook.
The hard parts
Repetitive work like peeling and chopping for hours. Knife cuts, wet floors and cold walk-in fridges. Low pay and little say in what you do.
Where it leads
prep workers move to line cook within a year or two, then sous chef or kitchen manager.
Quick answers
Do food preparation workers need a college degree?
No. You can start now: nothing needed.
How long is the training for food preparation workers?
1–2 weeks of paid training at work.
How much do food preparation workers make?
About $12.41–14.40 an hour to start and $16.98 an hour at the median across the US (May 2025).
Is it a fit for you?
Answer a few questions and see your paths. Free, about 7 minutes.
Similar careers
Cooks, fast food · Cooks, institution and cafeteria · Dishwashers
Last updated October 13, 2026. Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025. Jobs: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35. Training, costs and requirements: Jetted Fox research (estimates). This site includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Jetted Fox has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Facts, not advice.